It may take you anywhere from 3 to 6 months for you to become fully independent. Your abdominal muscles will have been cut during surgery. These muscles are necessary to stand upright, so you won’t be able to perform many ordinary activities until these muscles have healed. You should participate in light exercise, eat well, get rest, and avoid stress to expedite the recovery process.
Recovery Period
These recovery timeframes vary from patient to patient. They are provided as a rough estimate of your recovery process, but many factors will affect your actual recovery times. Talk to your donor coordinator if you have any concerns.
You may resume sexual activities as soon as your sutures have healed. It is your responsibility to be cautious and to avoid injury. You are allowed to consume alcohol after you've healed completely, but we encourage you to do so in moderation.
Other Concerns
Your body will want to regenerate the missing portion of your liver, so you’ll need to eat meals that are high in protein to provide your body with the necessary building blocks to do so. Your immune system will be lowered during this process, so foods that would normally cause a simple upset stomach could lead to a more serious illness. Your transplant nutritionist will educate you accordingly.
Liver function will be considerably diminished after surgery, but will gradually return to normal as liver volume increases, which typically happens shortly after the 4-week mark. Our team will ask you to visit the blood lab every 3 months to keep track of your liver function levels. After the first year, you'll need to conduct these function tests, along with an ultrasound, once per year for the rest of your life.
It is not uncommon for you to experience fatigue and lethargy for the first few weeks at home. You'll be sleeping a lot more than normal. This is because your body is working overtime to regenerate your liver, and also because your liver function has been greatly diminished. We encourage you to try to exercise lightly (walk, flex your muscles) during this period to avoid blood clots and muscle deterioration. It is also important to have a friend or family member assist you with difficult activities.
A typical recovery will not require any medication. However, certain circumstances may warrant it, such as antibiotics for a wound infection. The recipient's insurance company will cover some medications, but they won't cover painkillers because they don't want to pay for a duplicate prescription, since the recipient will also be on painkillers. Talk to our financial coordinator to determine how to cover these costs.
